ERS Award for Lifetime Achievement in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension 2016

Anton Vonk Noordegraaf, MD, PhD, is Professor and Chair of the Division of Pulmonary Sciences at the Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, a tertiary referral centre for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in The Netherlands. Professor Vonk Noordegraaf obtained his medical degree with honours from the Vrije Universiteit Medical Centre, Amsterdam, in 1995.

Between 1995 and 1997 he studied for his PhD, exploring the function of the right ventricle in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease-related PAH. He then spent a year as a postdoctoral fellow at The University of Pennsylvania, PA, USA, where he was dedicated to the research of the pulmonary circulation in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

After completing a 6-year fellowship in pulmonary medicine at Vrije Universiteit, he joined the division of Pulmonary Sciences at the University in 2003, where he remains to the present day.

Professor Vonk Noordegraaf has published over 270 articles in peer-reviewed journals and more than 20 book chapters. His research is focused on the mechanisms and treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension, right ventricular failure, pulmonary haemodynamics, and clinical studies in the field of pulmonary hypertension.

Further, in 2009 he received the 'Pulmonary Hypertension Research Award' from the European Respiratory Society. In 2013, he was appointed chairman of the CVON consortium grand 'Phaedra': a 10 million euro grant aimed to develop new drugs for the treatment of PAH. In 2015, he received the VICI Award: a 1.5 million euro grant for his research to restore the energy balance in the pressure overloaded right ventricle.

He is also Nucleus Member of the working group for 'Pulmonary Circulation' for the European Society of Cardiology and Chair of the ERS group for 'Pulmonary Circulation and Pulmonary Vascular Disease'.